Aug 26, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates designated hitter Andrew McCutchen (22) is congratulated by shortstop Liover Peguero (31) after scoring against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Pirates Beat Cardinals After Early Offensive Push

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI
By Dominic Campbell | Last updated Aug 26, 2025 10:24 PM ET

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates hit well early and often against the St. Louis Cardinals, as they earned an 8-3 victory at Busch Stadium.

The Pirates even up the series with the Cardinals, who they lost the series opener on a walk-off, 7-6, on Aug. 25. They have also won six of their last eight games, sweeping the Colorado Rockies, Aug. 22-24, and winning two of three games against the Toronto Blue Jays, Aug. 18-20, both at PNC Park.

Pittsburgh improves to 58-75 overall and 19-45 on the road, while St. Louis falls to 65-68 overall and 36-31 at home.

The Pirates immediately got after Cardinals right-handed starting pitcher Andre Pallante in the top of the first inning.

Shortstop Jared Triolo led off with a single, first baseman Spencer Horwitz singled, moving Triolo to third base, then right fielder Bryan Reynolds doubled, scoring Triolo to put the Pirates up 1-0 and moving Horwitz to second base.

Center fielder Oneil Cruz walked in his first MLB at-bat in two weeks following time spent on the concussion list, loading the bases for Pittsburgh.

Designated hitter Andrew McCutchen then came through with a single, moving Cruz to third base and scoring both Horwitz and Reynolds, extending the lead to 3-0 for the Pirates.

That hit for McCutchen was his 2,248th of his MLB career, moving him past Hall of Fame Seattle Mariners third baseman Edgar Martinez (1987-2004), into 174th place on the all-time hits list.

Left fielder Jack Suwinski hit a ground-rule double, moving McCutchen to third base and scoring Cruz for a 4-0 Pittsburgh lead.

Catcher Henry Davis recorded the first out of the inning for the Pirates, a sacrifice fly that scored McCutchen and extended the Pirates' advantage to 5-0.

Update: A lot of runs were scored in the first. pic.twitter.com/ZQyGDDGBJC
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 27, 2025

Second baseman Liover Peguero flew out and third baseman Isiah Kiner-Falefa grounded out, ending a great offensive outing for the Pirates.

Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller gave out back-to-back one out singles to Cardinals designated hitter Iván Herrera and left fielder Alec Burleson, but got first baseman Wilson Contreras to ground out into a double play, stranding both runners.

Horwitz hit a one out single in the top of the second inning and then Reynolds hit his second double of the night, scoring Horwitz to make it 6-0 for the Pirates, then moving to third base on an error from Cardinals center fielder Lars Nootbaar.

Cruz hit a ground out, but it brought Reynolds across home plate, as the Pirates added onto their lead at 7-0.

Davis capped off the Pirates scoring with a solo home run in the top of the third inning, hitting an slider on the 11th pitch of the at-bat and making it an 8-0 ball game.

Oh, Henry! pic.twitter.com/b6IToxP4mj
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) August 27, 2025

Keller had an solid outing for Pittsburgh, finishing with 93 pitches over six innings, three hits, one walk and three earned runs allowed, while posting a season-high nine strikeouts.

He did give up a two-run home run to Cardinals third baseman Nolan Gorman in the fourth inning and allowed a run on a groundout in the sixth inning, but still finished with a quality start, his 16th of the season, ninth most in the MLB.

Keller also strike out the side in both the second inning and the fourth inning, with two strikeouts in the third inning.

He last posted nine strikeouts in a 4-0 win over the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Aug. 20, 2024.

It marked his sixth win on the season and his first since July 2 vs. the Cardinals at PNC Park. It also made it four quality starts vs. the Cardinals in 2025 and with a 2.07 ERA over 26.1 innings pitched.

Right-handed relief pitcher Kyle Nicolas threw two scoreless innings and then fellow right-handed relief pitcher Isaac Mattson finished the Cardinals off in the ninth inning, completing the victory for the Pirates.

The Pirates will look to take a lead in the series vs. the Cardinals in the next contest on Aug. 27. First pitch is set for 7:45 p.m. (EST).

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Pirates on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: